Non-tangling device for flags.



J. V. ALLEN. A

NON-TANGLING DEVlCE FOR FLAGS. APPLICATJON FILED NOV- 22, 1911.

1,277,347. PatentedSept. 3,1918.

INK/ENTER m M/4% A? TUENEIY' UNITED sTArEs PATENT oEEIoE.

JOHN VICTOR ALLEN, or PEOVIDENCE,,RHQDE IsLA'iv'D, AssIeNoE oEoNE-HAL '1O HOWARD BRONSDON WEEKs, or PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND.

NON-TANGLING DEVICE FOR FLAGS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 3,1918.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN VIo'ron ALLEN, a citizen of the United States, residing at- Providence, inthe county of Providence and State of Rhode Island, have inventedanew and useful Improvement in Non-Tangling Devices for Flags, ofwhich the following is a specification. I

lVith flagpoles placed at a slant or in a horizontal position, it is desirable that the flag-should hang downward free ofthe pole, so' as toinsure its proper display. When held in place by securing the flag to the halyards only, the flag is free to be whipped, wrapped or tangled by the wind around the flagpole, thereby giving an unsightly appearance and causinginjury to the flag.

My inventionrel'ates to a non-tangling device adapted to be attached to the edge of a flag which is suspended from a slanting or horizontal flagpole; the object of tlie'de vice being to prevent the flag from becoming tangled or wrapped about the pole, and to cause the flag to hang downwardly in a manner that will insure its display without unduly hampering its freedom of motion in the wind.

The object of my invention is to improve the construction of a non-tangling device for flags, whereby the device is formed of wire with a light coiled spring flag clamp at the upper end and a heavy coiled spring flag clamp at the lower end for weight; the device being secured to the flag by forcing the edge of the flag into and between the spring coils of the flag clamps, also forming, on the larger and heavier sizes, a hook-shaped upper end which hooks into a grommet in the flag, thereby more positively'securing the heavier device to the flag.

Further objects of my invention are to simplify the construction and reduce the cost of manufacturing such non-tangling devices for flags.

My invention consists in the peculiar and novel construction of a non-tangling device for flags, said device having details of con struction, as will be more fully set forth hereinafter and claimed.

Figure 1 is a side view of a flagpole from which is suspended a flag provided with my improved non-tangling device.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged side view of the nontangling device, as shown in Fig. 1, and hav-- .ing the hook shaped upper end as used on the larger and heavier devices, for the" 1 Fig. 3 is an edgeview ofFig. 2. V Fig.4 is a side View of a lighter and smaller size of the device as used on the smaller size flags, thelight weight of whichdoes not require thehook-shape'd upper end for securing it: to the grommet, and

Fig. 5 is an edge view of Fig.4.

In the drawing, 6 indicates a flagpole, 7 the halyards, 8 a flag having the usual grommets 9.9, and 10 my improved non-tanglingdevice. The ends of the halyards 7 are secured'to the grommets 9.9 of'the flag 8 in the usual way, thereby suspending the flag from the pole, asshown in Fig. 1.

My improved non-tangling device 1O ispreferably constructed in various" sizes for. different sizes of flags. For the larger sizes of flags it is constructed of heavy wire shaped to have a straight body portion 11, a hook-shaped upper end 12 bent at an angle to the body portion 11, a light coiled spring flag clamp 13 adjacent the upper end and a comparatively heavy coiled spring flag clamp 14 on its lower end for weight as shown in Figs. 2 and 3. For the smaller sizes of flags, the device is made of light wire and the hook-shaped upper end 12 is dispensed with, as shown in Figs. 4; and 5, as being unnecessary. In the larger sizes the coiled spring flag clamps 13 and 14 are madev oval shaped as shown in Fig. 2, so as to give a deeper and stronger grip on the flag, and in all of the various sizes the lower coiled spring flag clamps are made heavier, so as. to form a weighted lower end, by increasing the number of the coils, as shown in Figs. 3 and 5.

The device is easily and quickly attached to a flag by hooking the hook-shaped uppurpose, such as shown in United States Patents No. 982,645, No. 1,151,658,"and No. 1,195,224, but I am not aware of any other device for this purpose which is constructed of wire with coiled spring wire flag clamps, by Whichthe device is detachably secured to the flag and also having a hook-shaped upper end by which the device is more positively secured, by hooking the shook-shaped upper end through a grommet in the flag.

Having thus described my invention I claim as new a r 1. A non-tangling device :for flags, consisting of an elongated body portion havinga hook shaped upper end, a closed coiled spring fiag clamp adjacent the upper end and a closed coiled spring flag clamp on its lower end, formed integral'of wire, said closed coiled spring flag clamps holding the edge of a flag between the coils under spring tension, as described. 7 1 a 2. Ina device of the nature specified, an elongated member formed of Wire and having a straight body portion on each end of which is a tightly closed coiled spring flag clamp, said closed coiled spring flag clamps being adapted to close under spring tension on each side of a flag, at its edge, for the purpose as described. 1

3. In a device of the nature specified, an

elongated member formed of wire and hav- :1

ing a straight body portion, a hook-shaped upperend bent at an angle to the body portion, a tightly closed coiled spring flag clamp formed of two tightly closed coils adjacent the upper end and extending sidewise from the body portion and a coiled spring flag clamp formedof four tightly closed coils at the lower end of the body portion for Weight and extending sidewise from the body poi-4 tion, all formed integral, said closed coiled spring flag clamp being adapted to close under spring tension, at each side of a flag, at its edge, for the purpose as described.

4:. A non-tangling device for flags, consistingof an elongated body portion adapted to extend along the edge of a flag, and

copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patenta Washington, D. G. 

